HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	23
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Requesting the department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in planning and designing the new Oahu Community Correctional Center in Halawa, to include circuit and district court facilities and Establish a release procedure under which detainees or inmates, upon release, are transported to a site other than residential communities or public spaces.

WHEREAS, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is currently in the planning and design stage of the new Oahu Community Correctional Center in Halawa to replace the current facility in Kalihi; and

WHEREAS, various factors should be considered in the planning and design of the replacement facility, including the costs related to operating the facility in Halawa rather than Kalihi and the impact on the surrounding communities; and

WHEREAS, concerns have been raised regarding the significant cost and impact of regularly transporting detainees between the new facility and courts in Honolulu for legal proceedings, including the costs of additional labor, vehicles, and gasoline, and contribution to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion; and

WHEREAS, concerns have also been raised by the surrounding communities regarding the possible impact on public safety by having the new Oahu Community Correctional Center release detainees or inmates directly into residential communities or public spaces such as parks; and

WHEREAS, section 353-16.37, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the affected community to develop a Community Benefit and Enhancement Package, which may include but not be limited to infrastructure improvements and other government functions, to mitigate the negative aspects of building a correctional facility in the community; and

WHEREAS, having circuit and district court facilities within the new Oahu Community Correctional Center in Halawa will significantly reduce the frequency of transporting detainees between the new facility and courts in Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, having the new Oahu Community Correctional Center adhere to a release procedure under which detainees or inmates, upon release, are transported to a site other than residential communities or public spaces will mitigate possible impacts on public safety; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in planning and designing the new Oahu Community Correctional Center in Halawa, is requested to:

(1) Coordinate with the Judiciary to include circuit and district court facilities in the new Oahu Community Correctional Center; and

(2) Establish a release procedure to be implemented by the new Oahu Community Correctional Center under which detainees or inmates, upon release, are transported to a site other than residential communities or public spaces; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Judiciary; Department of Accounting and General Services; Governor; New Oahu Community Correctional Center; Planning and Designs; Courts; Release Procedures